1. Technical Field
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless networks, and more specifically to security for group addressed data packets in wireless networks.
2. Related Art
Wireless networks as used herein refer to networks such as those operating in accordance with IEEE 802.11 family of standards in terms of frequency bands of operation, modulation techniques, etc., and operate to provide connectivity in the range of few tens of meters. A typical wireless network enables end devices to exchange data packets. Wireless network typically contain aggregators such as access points (AP) or router nodes, which forward a packet received from (and generated by) a source (end) system to a destination (end) system.
Group addressed data packets refer to packets which are directed to multiple devices of a wireless network. The specific end devices which are intended recipients may be specified by multicast addresses, with each multicast address designed for identifying a corresponding subset of devices of those present on the wireless network. These multicast addresses can be at layer-2 (corresponding to the wireless medium) or at higher layers (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP) level).
There is a general need to provide security for group addressed data packets (or multicast packets). Security implies appropriate encryption/decryption, such that the packet content cannot be viewed and/or tampered with, as suited in the corresponding environments.
In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the corresponding reference number.